Synthesis, structure and dielectric properties of a rare earth double perovskite oxide Ba2CeTaO6

A rare earth double perovskite oxide barium cerium tantalate, Ba2CeTaO6 (BCT) is synthesized by solid-state reaction. The X-ray diffraction pattern of the sample at room temperature (25 °C) shows monoclinic structure, with the lattice parameters, a = 9.78 Å, b = 9.02 Å and c = 4.27 Å and β = 93.8°. A scanning electron micrograph shows the formation of grains with average size ∼ 2 μm. Impedance spectroscopy is applied to investigate the ac electrical properties of BCT in a temperature range from 303 to 673 K and in a frequency range from 100 Hz to 1 MHz. Complex-impedance-plane plots show grain contribution for BCT. The frequency-dependent electrical data are analyzed in the framework of the conductivity and modulus formalisms. The frequency-dependent conductivity spectra follow a power law. The conductivity at 110 Hz varies from 3.5 × 10−7 S m−1 to 1.2 × 10−2 S m−1 with increasing temperature from 303 to 673 K, respectively. The scaling behaviour of M″ and Z″ suggest that the relaxation describes the same mechanism at various temperatures.